Category Archives: Finer Things Friday

A Serendipity-Style Date

Posted on by Run DMT
12

Last Sunday, Allan and I celebrated our 12th anniversary.  Twelve years, really?  Wow.

For our anniversary, I wanted to plan something different other than dinner and a movie.  So when I stumbled upon this idea from The Dating Divas on Pinterest, I knew this was the date to plan for us.

Allan and I love the movie Serendipity.  Since the way we met happened by chance or nearly met a few times before our first encounter, we love any and all romantic comedies that revolved that theme, however, Serendipity holds the number one spot.  (You can watch the trailer here.)

Basically, the two main characters meet by chance in a department store when trying to purchase the same pair of gloves and then spend the rest of day together.  At the end of the day, they try to exchange phone numbers but fate steps in so they decide to test fate by writing the numbers on a five dollar bill and in an old book.  If either item crosses their paths again, then they’re meant to be together.

When Allan and I celebrated our tenth anniversary in New York City, we tried to replicate Serendipity movie moments, like ice skating in Central Park.  Next to our wedding day and our honeymoon (and the birth of our children, of course) that weekend in NYC was the best time ever.

So for our Serendipity-style date, I recreated those special NYC moments with a Tampa flare.  I started with an invitation hidden inside the Serendipity DVD case.  With snowflakes embellishments and typewriter font, I created an invitation that cleverly outlined our date.

“The best time to ever be
Was our time spent in New York City
And how each moment
Was like a scene from Serendipity.
So let’s relive that date
With some ice and some skates
And lunch at Datz Deli.”

We began the date at Datz Deli.  The restaurant was so busy that the only available seating was at the bar.  We were all right with that.

To stick with the NYC motif, I ordered the Rockin’ Rueben, but Allan ordered a BBQ Brisket sandwich.   I couldn’t eat the whole thing, but I knew I would be hungry again after ice skating.

For the past two holiday seasons, city of Tampa has erected an ice rink at Curtis Hixon Park in the middle of Downtown Tampa, appropriately named Tampa’s Downtown on Ice.  Although the rink is small and on this particularly Sunday, very crowded, it filled the bill for the ice skating portion of our date.

Unfortunately, it was hard to hold hands as we skated as we had to swerve around small children.  I even fell on my knees at one point, which made me laugh so hard.  No matter how small the rink was, we still had huge fun and we left a Serendipity sign to let others know we were there.

Since Allan and I worked up quite a thirst ice skating, we popped over to Taps across the street from Tampa’s Downtown on Ice for a quick pint.  We drank to a fun date and toasted twelve great years.  Here’s to many more of them!

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Live, Love, TRAVEL

Pumpkin Biscotti

Posted on by Run DMT
7

PhotobucketLast Friday, I blogged about The Great Pumpkin Palooza for Thanksgiving!  This was no joke.  Iron Chef Allan and I really did bake an unbelievable amount of pumpkin goodies.  I have enough material for four more Friday Food Fights, but I’ll spare you the pumpkin, because it’s Christmas and I’m ready to move onto some peppermint goodies.

Well, maybe just one more pumpkin treat because these pumpkin biscotti were so yummy.  All right then, I’ll share one more pumpkin treat with you because it is Christmas.  And then, next week no pumpkin for you!

I found this recipe and all things pumpkin at My Baking Addiction.  The white chocolate drizzle compliments the pumpkin pie flavor nicely, however, these pumpkin biscotti have a chewy center rather than a crunchy center like most biscotti.  Perhaps it should be called Pumpkin Pie Biscotti because then you might anticipate a moist center.  That’s what she said.  Either way, this biscotti is a tasty Thanksgiving snack while sip your coffee.

 

 

Pumpkin Biscotti (from My Baking Addiction)

Ingredients
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½  tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp butter
1 ¼  cup nuts, coarsely chopped (I used almonds.)
White chocolate chips (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350*F.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl; stir well. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla, stirring well with a wire whisk. Slowly add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Mixture will be very crumbly.  It will gradually become moist after stirring.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add nuts. Cook, stirring constantly, until nuts are browned. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Knead or gently stir cooled nuts into dough. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 portions. Lightly flour hands and shape each portion into a 2 x 10″ long log. Place logs 3″ apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 24 minutes; cool logs 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 F.

After some cooling, move a loaf to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 1/2″ thick pieces. Do the same to the other loaf. The interior of each biscotti should still be just a little moist (while the exterior is nice and hard). The crust of the loaf will probably be quite hard, so use a large serrated knife such as a bread knife for this job.

Place the biscotti with a cut side facing up on a half sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes. Remove the pan and flip all the biscotti over so the other cut side is now facing up. Bake for another 7 minutes. Set all the pieces on a wire rack to cool making sure that none of the biscotti are touching each other. If the biscotti are placed too close together, they could get a little soft or soggy as they cool.

Once the biscotti have fully cooled, they can be consumed as, white chocolate dipped or drizzle with white chocolate.

For a white chocolate drizzle, melt some white chocolate chips and add the melted chocolate in a Ziploc bag.  Cut a small opening in one corner and drizzle it across the biscotti.

The biscotti tastes best during the first few days, but will keep for up to a month in a sealed air-tight container.

 

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are flinging for this week’s Friday Food Fight.  And while you’re here, feel free to toss share your cookies at The Ultimate Virtual Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap.  



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Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes

Posted on by Run DMT
9

PhotobucketThanksgiving 2011 will forever be known as The Great Pumpkin Palooza!  Seriously, Iron Chef Allan and I went out of control with the pumpkin treats this year.  With all the pumpkin baking we did yesterday, we went beyond the reasonable amount.  Although I think we surprised ourselves with the yummy results of The Great Pumpkin Palooza from the pumpkin scones for breakfast to the maple pumpkin pie after our Thanksgiving dinner.

What prompted The Great Pumpkin Palooza is my addition to My Baking Addition and my recent discovery of Jamie’s wonderful pumpkin list.  I mean, for real! How could we only attempt to bake one of these perfectly delicious pumpkin treats?

So they we were yesterday, Iron Chef Allan and I, madly baking pumpkin goodies while watching the Macy’s Day Parade and tossing back a few mimosas.  The kitchen smelled perfect.
image of bottle of Samuel Adams® Harvest Pumpkin Ale

One particular pumpkin treat sparked my curiosity over the others: The Pumpkin Ale Cupcake.  Since we love our seasonal craft beer, some Samuel Adams Pumpkin Harvest Ale was
chilling in the fridge.

However, I must have been downing the bubbly a bit too quickly while baking, because I flubbed and omitted the cocoa powder from the recipe.  The results were cupcakes with a more spice cake taste rather than chocolate cake flavor.  But no need to worry, my little pumpkins!  They were still delicious.

So if you prefer a more chocolate cake flavor, then add the cocoa powder. If you want a vanilla spice/pumpkin pie cupcake, then hold the cocoa powder.  Either way, you can’t go wrong!

But never mind about the ingredients!  Hopefully, you’ll have the right piping tools and your tips didn’t fall victim to the garbage disposal so your finished product will look prettier than mine.  Although given the circumstances, I think Iron Chef Allan iced these quite nicely for me. Besides, it’s what’s on the inside (or in this case, NOT on the inside) that counts.

 

Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes (from My Baking Addiction)

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

1 (12-ounce) bottle Pumpkin Ale
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Buttercream

4 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons pumpkin ale

 

Directions

For the Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer combine the pumpkin ale, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add in sour cream, mix until fully incorporated.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda.
4. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined (batter will be thin).
5. Evenly divide batter amongst the prepared muffin wells.
6. Bake 25 minutes, until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Remove pan to wire rack. Cool completely before turning out of the tins.

For the Buttercream

1. Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

2. Slowly begin adding the confectioners’ sugar, mixing well after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, add in the pumpkin ale and mix until light and fluffy. Beat on high speed for about two minutes. If frosting is too thick, gradually add in a little more pumpkin ale (1 teaspoon at a time) until you reach the desired consistency. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.  If desired, garnish with festive sprinkles.

Yields  24 cupcakes

 

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are flinging for this week’s Friday Food Fight.



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Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on by Run DMT
5

Like I mentioned in my previous post, my mom, my sister and I set a date for our “Annual Marathon Christmas Cookie Baking Day” and I’ve already dog-eared some of my favorites and pinned some new ones to try on Pinterest.

Like any marathon, a baking marathon requires some training to ensure a peak performance or PB (personal best).  I made this “test batch” of Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip Cookies as a gift for my Suncoast Strider friends and they came out perfect!  Of course, when Iron Chef Allan tastes them, he’ll tell me how to improve them ask me why I didn’t make a batch for him and the girls.

I better start baking another batch before he gets home before I eat them all.  I need all the “training” I can get.

Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 – 6 ounce package Ocean Spray Craisins Original Sweetened Dried Cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chips
Directions

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.  Then, add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt.  Then, add butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes approximately 2 ½ dozen cookies.

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are flinging for this week’s Friday Food Fight.

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Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie or treat you bake and share every year?

On December 1, a few blogger friends and I will be hosting The Ultimate Virtual Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap and you‘re cordially invited!  So, dust off your favorite Christmas cookie recipes, preheat your ovens and set your timers for Thursday, December 1, when our blog hop goes live.  Then, snap some photos of your gingersnaps or whatever other tasty treats you want to share for The Ultimate Virtual Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap!

More details to digest soon!

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One Bad Mother Baker

Posted on by Run DMT
4

I’m one bad mother baker.  I got made piping skillz, yo.

Check it out.  This is the chocolate chip cookie cake I made for Allana’s class for her tenth birthday.

Iron Chef Allan was pretty impressed. But he better step off, ’cause I’m as smooth as this icing, baby and he can’t touch it.

Then on Wednesday, the kids and I baked Rolled Sugar Cookies for our neighborhood firefighters as part of our 30 Days of Giving.  We used the same vanilla butter icing and the kids each chose a color for the icing.  They did a gorgeous job decorating the cookies and they tasted pretty darn good too.

Like I said, I’m one bad mother baker.

Word.

 
Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick unsalted butter (1 stick), softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Cream together sugar and butter.  The beat in vanilla, eggs, flour, baking powder and salt.

Chill the cough for 3 to 4 hours before rolling.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Use a melon baller to scoop and roll dough into 2 inch balls.  Place cookie dough on a greased on lined cookie sheet.  Bake 7 to 12 minutes. Let cookies stand for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to cool. Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.

 

Quick Vanilla Icing 

Ingredients

2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1/4 cup  (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Combine in a medium bowl and beat together on a medium speed.

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Now link up to win and to see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are flinging for this week’s Friday Food Fight.


But wait!  There’s more!  The winner of our very first Friday Food Fight giveaway and proud new owner of Joy of Cooking is….

Based on last week’s linky, #11 is The Rickett Chronicles!  Congratulations! A big THANK YOU to everyone who entered a foodie photo! :-)

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Mummy’s Freaky Treats and Giveaway

Posted on by Run DMT
14

Besides costumes and mountains of candy, some stores also stock their shelves with some interesting spirits for Halloween.  In our area, Total Wine has the best selection of seasonal ales.  With so many to choose from, I decided to give Shmaltz Brewing Company’s Coney Island Craft Lager Freakotober a taste test only because I liked its freaky look and name and its concept.  A portion of the proceeds of this ale is donated to the restoration and preservation of Coney Island, which made me feel better just knowing that my alcoholism was supporting a good cause.

As stated on the label, the ale has a red hue.  I think the label and the color was the only think I liked about the beer.  It was far too bitter for my taste buds.  Iron Chef Allan liked the flavor, but decided against drinking it because of the food coloring.  Like a good little freak sport, I finished off the beer.

Last Saturday, we attended our annual adult Halloween party.  For my dish to share, I made Mummy Pizzas, which I found at Family Fun.  The recipe suggest using English muffins, but since my kids don’t like English muffin pizzas, I used mini loaves of bread.  (Mini bagels would be a nice alternative too or even Iron Chef Allan’s superb pizza crust cut into tiny pizzas with a small circular cookie cutter.) I cut the loaves into ½ inch slices and toasted them in the oven before I added my simple sauce, thinly sliced mozzarella cheese and two slices of olives for the eyes.

Mmmmmmmm….Mummies good.
 

 
Mummy Pizzas (adapted from Disney’s Family Fun)

Ingredients

English muffins (or mini bagels or bread loaves sliced into ½ inch slices)

Pizza sauce

Sliced black olives

Mozzarella cheese (or pull-apart string cheese if kids help assemble pizzas)

 

Directions

Heat the oven to 350º F. Split and toast English muffins on a cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes.

For each mummy, spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of an English muffin.  Set two olive slices in place for eyes .

Slice mozzarella into thin, long strips of cheese and lay across the muffin for the mummy’s wrappings.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty.

 

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Before you link up and leave, I would like to announce that today marks Friday Food Fight’s One Year Anniversary!  Can you believe that?!  That’s 52 yummy dishes shared here at Run DMT and 156 shared between Karen, Kirsten and me.  Not counting all the wonderful foods our visitors have flung at us this past year!  WOW!

To celebrate a year of flinging foods and to thank you for supporting Friday Food Fight, we’ve put together a giveaway.  One lucky reader will win a copy of the Joy of Cooking (Iron Chef Allan’s and my favorite  cookbook).

 Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006

Everyone that adds a link to our Friday Food Fight linky collection blog hop will automatically be entered.  Add more links and you’ll earn more entries.

One winner will be chosen at random and that winner will be announced next Friday, November 4.  Only U.S. residents are eligible to win.  Our Friday Food Fight Cookbook Contest ends Thursday, November 3 at midnight eastern time. 

For more entries:

  • Add a comment below about the Freaktoberfest beer, my Mummy Pizzas or the cookbook, Joy of Cooking.
  • Blog about our Friday Food Fight Cookbook Contest and link back to Run DMT.  Remember to add our Friday Food Fight button to your post, please.
  • Follow denisermt, ificouldescape and cheekymonkey8 on Twitter.  Becoming a follower is an additional entry for each, so be sure to add a new comment for each new add.
  • Earn an additional entry each time you tweet:  #FridayFoodFight is throwing the book at you!  Link up a foodie photo for a chance to win Joy of Cooking. Ends 11/3 http://wp.me/pigkS-3cY
  • Like Run DMT, Gone Bananas and If I Could Escape on Facebook.  Each “like” is an additional entry, so be sure to add a new comment for each “like”.

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Now link up to win and to see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are flinging for this week’s Friday Food Fight.



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Baked Penne with Chicken Sausage and Broiled Eggplant

Posted on by Run DMT
9

PhotobucketI judge my life by ways of moan and groans from my children.  If I prepare a dinner that produces very little complaining, then it’s a winner and one to add to the menu rotation.  When I serve Baked Penne with Chicken Sausage and Broiled Eggplant, there is very little belly aching from my children and that makes for a pleasant dinner in more ways than one.

Since this pasta casserole is large enough to feed an army, it feeds my family for days.  I actually freeze small portions of it to have for lunch or dinner in a pinch.  Frozen leftovers reheat beautifully and taste just as good the second (or third) time around.

I stumbled upon this recipe in a William-Sonoma cookbook, Classic Pasta at Home, however, I’ve modified and…eh hem…perfected the recipe to our liking.   For example, I added my own tomato sauce recipe, but with dried oregano, doubled the amount and left some sauce to the side because my family likes extra sauce served on top.

I omitted the step to salt the eggplant, because when using a fresh eggplant, there’s no need to salt it to pull out the moisture.  (When selecting an eggplant, choose one that is dark purple and heavy.  It should feel slightly firm and with a soft, spongy give and should spring back when pressed. Too spongy means the eggplant is old.)  Plus, I baked the eggplant for 10 minutes on each side and then finished the eggplant off by broiling the slices for about 5 minutes for a beautiful golden brown color.

I also added part-skim ricotta and added part-skim mozzarella to the ingredients.

Like, I said, pasta perfection.
 
Baked Penne with Chicken Sausage and Broiled Eggplant

Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced into ½ inch round slices

1 ½ tsp salt

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 chopped yellow onion

8 cloves minced garlic

2 cartons of Pomi chopped tomatoes

4 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp crushed red pepper

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 lb mild Italian chicken sausage, casings removed and broken into crumbles

1 lb. dried penne

8 oz of part-skim ricotta cheese

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
 
Directions

Preheat oven to 400˚.

Arrange eggplant slices on an oiled cookie sheet.  Brush each side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake in oven for 10 minutes on each side to soften the eggplant.  Then, broil the eggplant for 5 minutes to produce a golden brown color.  Remove eggplant from cookie sheet and lay each slice on a dish covered with paper towel to cool and drain excess olive oil.

In a large sauté pan on a medium to low setting, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil.   Add onions and sauté’ until translucent.  Add garlic and sauté for a few minutes to soften the garlic.  Add tomatoes, oregano, 1 tsp salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper.  Bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes.  Taste and adjust accordingly.  Then, remove half the sauce from the pan and set to the side to be served with casserole.

Add sausage to remaining sauce.  Stir the sausage crumbles into sauce while breaking the crumbles into smaller pieces.  Simmer and occasionally stir for another 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil on a high heat.  Add penne, stir well and cook for 6 minutes.  Drain and return to pot.  Add sauce with sausage and ricotta and toss.

In a 9×11 oven-safe baking dish, make a layer of pasta using half the pasta.  Top with eggplant.  Add another layer of pasta and another layer of eggplant.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is slightly golden brown.  Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

Slice and serve each piece with tomato sauce drizzled over top.

 

 

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are serving for this week’s Friday Food Fight.



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Apron’s Perfect Panko Chicken with Hummus and Zesty Honey Carrots

Posted on by Run DMT
10

PhotobucketEvery Sunday, my family and I time our trips to the supermarket just right.  We always manage to arrive at Publix during the Apron’s recipe demonstrations and we snack while we shop.

Although I always dive right in to taste each week’s dish, Iron Chef Allan usually turns his nose up at the food.  That was until I raved about Apron’s Perfect Panko Chicken with Hummus.  After some gentle prodding to try it, Allan tasted his first Apron’s recipe and he was pretty impressed with the perfect panko chicken.

Later that week, I prepared my own version of the Perfect Panko Chicken.  Rather than an egg wash, hummus binded the panko breading to the chicken breast.  However, I used a generous helping of my own homemade hummus instead of the store bought brand suggested in the Apron’s recipe.  I then followed the steps accordingly, but omitted the rice because I thought couscous would complement the chicken better.

A lightly breaded panko chicken breast served on generous pile of couscous with a drizzle of cilantro-lime hummus and some Zesty Honey Carrots on the side.

It really was perfection.

Run DMT’s  Slightly Modified Version of Apron’s Perfect Panko Chicken with Hummus

Ingredients

Juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
4 chicken cutlets (about 1 lb)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup of hummus
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon water

Directions

Pound chicken breasts until ¼ thick.  Season chicken with salt and pepper. Generously coat both sides of chicken with hummus (about 1 tablespoon for each cutlet).  Drench the cutlets and do not remove excess hummus.  Dip chicken into panko, coating both sides.

Preheat canola oil in large sauté pan on medium heat.  Then add chicken and cook for 4 minutes each side or until 165°F.

Combine remaining 1/2 cup hummus with cilantro, lime juice, and water.  Drizzle sauce over chicken. Serve on a bed of couscous or rice.

 

Zesty Honey Carrots

Ingredients

1 (16-oz) bag dip chip cut carrots
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place carrots in microwave-safe dish and cover; microwave on HIGH 4–5 minutes or until tender. Drain any water in dish.

Whisk together in medium bowl, honey, chili powder, salt, and pepper until blended. Stir carrots into sauce. Serve.

 

Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are serving for this week’s Friday Food Fight.

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A Whole Latte Shaking Going on with NesCafe Dolce Gusto

Posted on by Run DMT
11

Monday evening, Kelly and I joined some local foodie bloggers for the NesCafé Dolce Gusto FeedUp at Restaurant BT in South Tampa.

Having dined at Restaurant BT before, I was chomping at the bit to sample her NesCafé Dolce Gusto dish:  Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac).  Chef BT demonstrated how to prepare the dish, which is featured in the NesCafe Dolce Gusto- The Dinner Party Primer.

Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac)

Ingredients

1 lb filet mignon steak

4 cloves finely chopped garlic

2 Tbsp Oil or butter

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 vine ripe tomatoes

2 cups watercress

1/4 red onion, finely sliced

1 Tbsp Cognac (Courvoisier optional)

Directions

  • Cut steak into bite-sized cubes, place in a bowl with garlic, soy sauce. red onion, fish sauce, sugar and pepper.  Mix well.
  • Heat a large, heavy-based pan until very hot. Add oil or butter until brown.  Add beef cubes and toss by shaking the pan.
  • Turn meat with tongs until brown and seared on the outside but still pink in the center.
  • Add congnac and toss before removing from heat.
  • Slice tomatoes and arrange on plate to make a decorative base.
  • Arrange watercress around or on top of tomatoes and watercress.
  • Place the beff in a mound on top of tomatoes and watercress.
  • Served with jasmine-scented steamed rice.

The tender bite-sized filet mignon melted in my mouth.  It was simply divine and our evening was off to a very satisfying start.

After a few more appetizers and desserts with a Vietnamese flare, we sampled the NesCafé Dolce Gusto.  These coffees target a demographic audience of 25-35 year olds in attempt to tap into the Keurig market.

I often drink Starbuck’s Via in a pinch, on the go or while camping and the NesCafé Dolce Gusto is very similar product.  As compared to Starbuck’s Vanilla Via, the Dolce Gusto Vanilla Latte Macchiatto has a milder taste.  For my sample Dolce Gusto Vanilla Latte Macchiatto, I chose to go a little lighter on the cream and froth, so it needed a bit more sugar, but it was still very smooth and tasty.

Since I don’t like my kitchen counters cluttered with a bunch of small appliances, the NesCafé Dolce Gusto Piccolo is the perfect compact size.  Plus, it is very easy to operate.  No barista training necessary.

Although I am a Vanilla Latte kind of lady, there are a variety of other NesCafé Dolce Gusto Flavors, including regular brew coffees, cappuccinos, espressos, hot cocoa and iced teas.

And by the looks on all the bloggers’ faces, it gets everyone’s seal of approval.

 

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Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are serving for this week’s Friday Food Fight.



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What is that? Velveeta?

Posted on by Run DMT
7

For this week’s Friday Food Fight, I am spending four days in Anna Maria Island with 16 of my closest girlfriends and our good friends, Jose Cuervo and Captain Morgan.

As you can see we’ve packed light.

Well at least, we’ve packed plenty of light beer.

So for the next four days, we will be soaking up the sun and the alcohol.

On Monday, we will have to kiss and make-up with our livers and our arteries too, thanks to a crock pot queso dip Faith made, which consists of two ingredients: Ro*Tel and Velveeta.  Until this weekend, I have never eaten Velveeta and shit goop like this only looks good after a gallon of margaritas.

And man, it was good.  Gross, but good.

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Now link up and see what If I Could Escape and Gone Bananas are serving for this week’s Friday Food Fight.



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